As reported, bus number BRT01T3378 with about 30 passengers left the bus stand 10 minutes late from its scheduled time of 9:00 pm. However, just few yards from the terminus, the driver drove the bus on the shoulder of the New Bypass Road and into a ditch causing the vehicle to fall on its side.

Leaving the passengers with blood and broken bones, both the driver and his assistant jumped out of the bus and escaped in the cover of the darkness.

People in the area, however, rushed to rescue the trapped passengers inside the mangled bus.

Injured persons were rushed to a hospital where many remain in serious condition.

Talking to the reporters, some passengers said both the driver and his assistant appeared to be intoxicated.

Interestingly, the owner of the private bus whose office is only yards away from the bus station, did not even come out to check on the injured passengers.